"Daiki! Don't mind about me! Save yourself first! Aaaaaaaaagh!"
"Euphemia!"
The dragonic swordsman could only watch in agony as he was unable to save his beloved one, a noblewoman from a neighboring kingdom who taught him the arts of alchemy. The blonde dame was attacked by a horde of demonic beings that he could not fight. They were too strong for him, as they were born out of pure malice and darkness from an evil heart. She then disappeared as her body was feasted upon by the demons. The swordsman could only run as he saved himself from the indomitable demons.
"I'll hold them off for you, Daiki. I have opened a dimensional hole using what's left of my mana. Go, and start a new beginning!" said the swordsman's mentor.
"But Sir Enomoto, I still want to fight!" said Daiki.
"No, don't mind about me. I shall go down fighting like the rest of this kingdom. Our deaths shall not be for naught, we all die for our beloved Afilia, our ancestors and our Dragon Deities. Now go!" said the mentor again.
Daiki could only shed a tear before he leaped into the hole. His mentor was then felled by a demon before he could even swing his sword towards it. He then died like the rest of the Afilians, and the lone non-Afilian casualty that was Euphemia Cross, the noblewoman whom Daiki once cherished and had feelings upon. He suddenly woke up from a nightmare that retold his past back in Afilia, only to realize that he's not there anymore.
"Dreaming about it again, young master? Ugh.. you can't seem to let go off the past, don't you?" said a spirit of a dragon that lived within Daiki's body. He did not leave Afilia all by himself, as the spirit of one of the Dragon Deities, Draco Piscis also followed him after he sacrificed himself to defeat The Revenant, the being that destroyed Afilia and killed everyone there. It was born from a jealous former crown prince who wanted to take Afilia for himself, only to fall prey to the dark forces that was sealed within the evil sword.
"Yeah, it's that dream again, and I'm hungry.." said Daiki. He was homeless ever since he left Afilia. He could only forage for mushrooms and fruits and hunt for any local animals that live within the Everbreeze Natural Preserve, a park located within the Polaris Sanctuary. It was built by the Fujimiya clan as a form of greenery to the Espers' refuge, as well as home to many flora and fauna alike. To keep himself warm, Daiki even made a bonfire out of fallen branches and his knowledge of alchemy, which enabled him to set the branches on fire using his mana.
Daiki then dove into the park's lake. He wasn't human at all, as he was able to breath underwater thanks to his special organ that his race possessed. He even had an ability that allowed him to hunt using weak electric signals and his acute sense of smell, allowing him to hunt underwater like a shark. Minutes later, Daiki caught a large Amur catfish, which he speared using his sword. He then hacked the fish into pieces and used his alchemy to create a pot out of of a large rock. He then boiled the catfish pieces on top of the bonfire, along with some wild mushrooms and herbs.
"That really hits the spot! I haven't caught a fish as big as this one before. I guess I was pretty lucky!" said Daiki as he gobbled down the catfish hot pot he made. "Yeah, but do you even remember that I helped you out with this one because you were very hungry?" answered Draco Piscis.
"Usually it's either a small weather loach or a crucian carp because they're easier to catch, but this one? A large catfish that's more than enough as a meal for a hungry swordsman like me! Thanks, my trusty dragon deity!" said Daiki as he ate even more.
Meanwhile inside the Polaris Castle, Gabrielle, or best known as Gabbie, woke up from her unconsciousness with a stinging pain on her head that felt like if she has a nail lodged within her skull. She noticed that her sister has changed her outfit into her usual fighting outfit. It felt too skimpy for her, especially that she's in a pretty cold place.
"Sorry, but it's all I have. We'll have to wait for Pops to send you your clothes, Sis" said Amélie, or known as Amy by her younger sister and her friends. "Ugh… now I have to wait a while I shiver to death in this" said Gabbie as she sulked on her bed.
"Do not worry, our logistics team has secured your package from your grandparents' residence in Niigata and they're on their way to the castle. Sorry to keep you waiting" said Hiroki as he came to visit his childhood friend from his days back when he studied in Canada.
Back with Daiki, he wandered around the city with his sword in his hand and Draco Piscis within his heart. The Espers' Homeworld was alien to the bespectacled swordsman, as he was not from this world but instead from Alterna, another homeworld located on the other side of the multiversal continuum. He then met a girl who was walking down the streets. She had a short dirty blonde hair and was clad in a wild-looking school uniform, as if she was a delinquent.
"Ugh, who the heck are you?" said the girl.
"Oh, I'm just walking around. Taking a little stroll to marvel this alien world. Anyways, who are you?" said Daiki.
"I'm Serina Himekawa, but you can call me Serina I guess. I'm not the kind of person who would make friends, but I guess making one isn't bad, right?" said Serina. She was pretty reluctant towards Daiki, as she was a former delinquent.
"Mhm, a friend is a friend to me. Mind if you take me around this place?" said Daiki.
The swordsman and the former delinquent hold their hands together and strolled around the city together. Daiki learned about Polaris Sanctuary and its inhabitants, and he was amazed that the city's denizens possessed supernatural abilities. He then amazed a small crowd of Esper youngsters with his alchemy skills, which allowed him to create an Enestal out of a puddle of water. An Enestal is an extract of an element created using alchemy, which Daiki could use to power up his weapons in order to deliver elemental attacks.
"Yo, I haven't seen something like this before. Who taught you this?" asked Serina.
Daiki could not answer, as he still felt the loss of Euphemia deeply. He remembered that she taught him alchemy since he was still a teenager. He even had feelings for her, and her family even planned a marriage for him and Euphemia as a symbol of Afilia and Arendelle's strong relation with each other. However, the plan went kaput as the blonde noblewoman herself was killed by the demonic beings and her soon-to-be groom escaped to the Espers' Homeworld.
"Not now!" said Daiki as he declined to answer Serina.
Just as Daiki and Serina continued their stroll together, a mysterious man riding a motorcycle dragged the girl as he passed by in a breakneck speed. "HELP!!" screamed Serina as she was dragged by the man. Memories of losing Euphemia flared within Daiki as he saw Serina being dragged away. Without any words, he took out his dragon-like pistol and shoved an Enestal into the pistol's slot. He took a careful aim and shot the motorcycle's wheel, causing it to lose control. Serina then fell into the street, as the man and the motorcycle rammed into the the wall, exploding upon impact.
"That was close!" said Serina as she looked back at the fire that engulfed the motorcycle and its mysterious driver. However, the driver himself is not dead yet. A monstrous shadow emerged from the fire, resembling a beast more than a man. Daiki readied his sword and went into his fighting stance.
"Hahahahaha! You'd think I'd die from that?! Lord Lukretia and Lord Hideo has given me a new power, so I could prey upon Espers like that bitch that I almost had. But because of you, I had to lose her! Now you will feel my wrath, you sword-wielding bastard!" said the man, who has already transformed into the hideous Berotha-Flytrap Deviant after the crash. A Deviant made using the DNAs of a prehistoric thorny lacewing from the Cretaceous period and a venus flytrap. His head was concealed by a huge venus flytrap that grew on top of his shoulders, and his right arm resembled a mantis' arm.
"You're nothing but a monster in my eyes, and I shall decide and write a happy ending to this innocent girl!" said Daiki as he brandished his sword.
"Go for it, this is your first fight in this new world, so I'm counting on you! Let's go, buddy!" said Draco Piscis from within Daiki's heart.
Daiki and the Deviant fought violently against each other as Serina watched in shock. "Eww eww ewww! Get away from me you creep!" said Serina as she saw the Deviant closing upon her before he was parried by Daiki's sword. "Serina, get away from here!" said Daiki before Serina fled the scene as the fight continues. He then used a water element-charged slash to damage the Deviant.
"You sneaky little brat! Give that girl back to me! She's my prey!" said the Deviant.
"No, I will not let the blood of an innocent person to be spilled again. I will fight to save everyone's lives!" answered Daiki. He then jammed another Enestal to his sword's slot and shot a wave of a water elemental slash towards the Deviant. The monstrous being was overwhelmed by the otherwordly power and he was flung away by it. Just before Daiki could claim his victory, the Deviant summoned a group of writhing humanoid beings to his aid.
"Don't think you can win that easily, wimp!" said the Deviant before he sicced a legion of Paramecium Deviants upon the swordsman.
"Purupuru! Purupuru! Charin!" said the Paramecium Deviants in an unintelligible language as they lolloped towards Daiki in groups. They were once fought by the musician and wrestler Kathleen Parker during the 2012 Angel Grove incident, but they were brought back by Lukretia and Hideo as footsoldiers for their new hybrid Deviant army.
"Face me head on!" said Daiki before he charged upon the Deviant horde. He then slew the Paramecium Deviants effortlessly with his swordfighting skills. The writhing Deviant footsoldiers groaned as they all die one by one and explode upon death. "The strength of my loyalty! Ryuujin Tatsumakizan!" said Daiki as he unleashed a circular water elemental slash that killed off the remaining Paramecium Deviants.
"Gah!" said the Deviant as he watched a wholesale massacre of his own footsoldiers at the hands of the Afilian swordsman. "You're next!" said Daiki before he finished off the Berotha-Flytrap Deviant with his special dropkick finisher, Haja Shuugekiha. "Lord Lukretia… I have failed! Waaaargh!" screamed the Deviant before he flopped into the ground and exploded harmlessly.
"Thanks for saving me, I don't know how I'm going to repay you but, at least we still can be friends, right?" said Serina. Daiki blushed when she said that, and he could only reply with a smile. He then brought Serina back up on her feet and continued their stroll together before they stopped by an eatery that Serina frequented for an evening snack.
"And so, a new story of the mighty swordsman has begun!" said Draco Piscis.
Upon the Berotha-Flytrap Deviant's death, Hayato wondered what has caused Deviants to sneak into the fortified sanctuary. He haven't seen any Deviants in the city until now, which surprised him. "I think we might have a bigger problem" said Dr. Irene Shinohara, Polaris' lead researcher and wife to Turquoise's secretary, Mamoru Higurashi. Irene was Marika's childhood friend during their college days, along with Mamoru himself.
The scientist then led Hayato to the security office. To Hayato's shock, he found that the security grids in Polaris Sanctuary has been disabled, but electricity and eveything else are still running. Even worse, the anti-Deviant measures were deactivated too. Irene suspected that there was a traitor within Turquoise or a Valhalla agent that posed as a Turquoise staff who hacked the system. She tried to restore the security grid, but to no avail. The system was already hacked, and a malware has deleted all of the important security files that were required to turn them on.
"Are you… FUCKING KIDDING ME?! THE FILES ARE GONE! WE'RE DOOMED!" said Irene angrily. "Have you checked the security cameras, Doc?" asked Hayato.
The part-Danish researcher then checked the security cameras. Nothing was out of ordinary, until they saw a girl with a black hair and a cap hacking the security grid by infecting it with a USB thumb drive. Upon finishing her job, she then left the scene as the malware overrode the security grid, disabling it while letting Deviants that were kept outside the city in. The first was the hideous hybrid Deviant that Daiki slain, but a couple of other Deviants has managed to get into the city.
"Ohhh this is bad!" said Hayato. Meanwhile, Gabbie had an uneasy feeling after hearing that the city's security grid has been deactivated. She knew that those people in Valhalla are still after her and her sister. They won't rest until the Minato siblings fall into their hands once again. "No, I must not give up this time. For the sake of myself and my sister, I will fight them back. If I won against those kidnappers before, then I can do it again" said Gabbie with a serious look in her face. She doesn't mind if she falls unconscious from exhaustion again, because she will do anything to protect herself and her sister.